The First Annual Four Corners Snowman Competition
by DeniseV
Summary: While Buck and J.D. were away, the rest of Four Corners played. The ladies' man wanted in next time, and woe to any man who got in his way. He forgot about the possibility of being tripped up by a horse. Just a little fun, with a minor reference to my last story To Nurture the Son.


"This is not fair."

"We are not going over this again, Buck," Chris Larabee said.

"But it's not fair."

Vin Tanner leaned over to his partner in today's events and said, "How much ya reckon the average age is that Buck sounds like to all the mommas in the crowd?"

Ezra Standish's eyes glazed over. "Excuse me," the resident professional poker player said as he stood, found his little notebook in his pocket and started out to canvass the townsfolk and the Christmastime visitors to Four Corners.

Vin shook his head and with an amused grin on his face walked over to one of the other teams.

"I know he won't kill 'im, but if he did he'd have a whole town o' witnesses who'd testify it was justified," the tracker said to Josiah Sanchez and J.D. Dunne as he watched Buck pester his long-time friend.

"That is the truth, brother," the town's preacher said.

J.D. tied his scarf a little tighter. "Can't figure how he thought he could compete with a broken foot," the young easterner said.

"He's been looking forward to this since that first early snowfall," Josiah reminded his friends.

"Jest like the rest o' the kids," Vin added. The three men laughed. "Look at Nate. Buck must be spewin' some dung to get a reaction like that from Nathan." The three of them laughed even harder.

The early snowfall had dumped enough of the fluffy white stuff for the town to be populated with an entire snowman town. Unfortunately, Buck was transporting a prisoner at the time and missed all the fun. When he and J.D. arrived back to Four Corners, enough melt had taken place to leave the streets a muddy mess. The snowmen? Nearly two dozen lined the main thoroughfare, the larger alleys, and either end of town, where two each stood guard.

It was an amazing sight … and Buck Wilmington made it clear that he would be participating the next time there was that much snow.

And then he made a bet with Nathan – of all people – about who could build the best snowman. The game was on, Ezra began taking bets on it once the teams were decided, and thus, The Four Corners Snowman Competition was born.

"You think Robert's as disappointed in not being in the competition as Buck?" J.D. asked as he melted a handful of snow in his hand into ice and then popped it in his mouth, crunching happily on his treat.

Mary Travis walked up with an answer. "Robert and Abigail and the kids are on their way to Colorado Springs and then Denver to spend Christmas with other family. I believe they had a celebration when they heard about Chaucer stepping on Buck's foot."

"How exactly did that happen?" Nettie Wells asked. She and her niece Casey were there to cheer J.D. and Vin on. That they were rooting for different teams didn't seem to bother them. It would be a fun morning of competition, followed by a big pot luck lunch that nearly the entirety of Four Corners' citizenry had volunteered to attend. It would be quite a feast, and the competition quite a spectacle.

"Ezra was still recovering from them drummers attacking him," Vin started.

"Yeah, what happened with them?" Casey asked.

"Judge sent 'em to Yuma for a few years each," Josiah said.

"Ezra's gonna have a whole gaggle of criminals wanting to get a piece of him if everyone who's been sent there because of him happen to meet up." J.D. looked at everyone, Nettie and Casey, Josiah, Vin and Mary, as they all stared at him. "What?" he asked. "It's true."

"It's Christmas, son. Let's think on something more positive."

"And telling about Buck's broken foot is more positive?" J.D. asked smartly.

"Story's pretty funny, kid," Vin said.

"It really is," Josiah agreed.

"Fine. Finish the story, Vin."

"It was Buck's turn to take Chaucer out for a ride."

"I said it was a bad idea. I'd've done it all myself."

"Should o' listened to you, J.D.," Josiah said, trying to ease the flair of temper that the young man had shown moments earlier.

"So, Buck don't listen, unless it has to do with a pretty woman. He waltzed into Chaucer's stall without givin' 'im any warning."

"Who don't know you gotta be careful when you come up to Chaucer?" Casey asked, as though it was common knowledge the world-over. J.D. nodded in agreement as Nettie shook her head.

"You both follow that rule every time you approach a horse?" the elderly rancher asked, already knowing the answer, having admonished the young couple both together and separately more than once.

"No, ma'am," the pair said in unison.

"Anyway," Vin said, continuing with the story, "Chaucer ain't good with most folks, 'specially when you head in like a bull in a china shop, which is what Buck did. Chaucer reared, Buck weren't concentratin' on bein' around horses … "

"We all know what Buck was concentrating on," Chris said as he joined the group, followed by Buck and his crutches, followed by Nathan watching the injured man maneuver the sticks and his broken foot over the snow-covered ground.

"It's not fair, I'm tellin' ya. We should postpone."

"Seems Buck _is_ able to concentrate on something else," Josiah said with a straight face. Nathan looked like he'd about had it with Buck Wilmington.

"Where's Ezra?" Chris asked.

"Out in the crowd, collectin' bets," Vin said.

"I thought the betting was closed on the competition," Buck said, "which, by the way, should be postponed until the next snow. It's only fair." If looks could kill, one of Nathan's knives would, virtually, of course, be sticking out from the man with the crutches.

"He's collectin' on somethin' different," the former bounty hunter said.

Chris shook his head. "What now?"

"How old everyone thinks Buck is actin'."

The leader of The Seven stared at Vin. As the tracker's mouth turned to a grin, so did the former gunslinger's. Finally, Chris could hold it in no more and he burst into a huge laugh. Buck looked decidedly put-upon.

"He can't be makin' much money on that bet. There's a few too many right answers between three and ten," Chris said.

"Thanks, old pard," Buck said as he leaned against a post and pouted.

"Think he's only doin' it fer fun," Vin said of the gambler.

"Well, go get 'im and let's get started. I'm gonna be ready to eat soon," Chris said. He'd been inside earlier as some of the food was being set out. The aromas drove him crazy; wooden spoons ready to slap his hand chased him out the door.

Gloria joined everyone at that moment. "Inez and I have everything staying warm that should, we have warmed cider and hot cocoa for the children, and Buck," she added with a wink to the ladies' man, "and a nicely _warming_ punch for the adults." It was a good euphemism to use with children around.

Within minutes the three teams were in position. Each took a spot at the top of a wider alley in order to have the most snow available to them. They were also separated by two buildings each in order to have sufficient supply of snow. Each team had a sack of supplies for decorating their finished snowman. There was a time limit of thirty minutes, mostly due to Nathan's point that it was damned cold and that he had enough work to do without everyone getting sick on purpose.

Buck was given the honor to call the competitors to start, though he hadn't exactly relished in said honor.

"Are the judges in place?" he called. There were two judges positioned at each of the three locations. Ezra insisted that one each of the pair of judges at each competitor location be one of the children of the town. It was a suggestion that was looked on as suspicious by Chris, Nathan, Josiah and J.D. but was met in a resoundingly positive light by the rest of the citizenry.

The judges all called back that they were ready.

"Go!" Buck shouted. And then he headed inside for some punch.

Chris, Josiah and J.D. all figured that the team of Ezra and Vin would be at a disadvantage considering the way both men were raised and the climates where they spent most of their younger years. In fact, Chris and Nathan both expected that J.D. and Josiah were the favorites in this competition between the advantage of years of building snowmen that Josiah had and the enthusiasm of youth and cold climate experience that J.D. brought to the team. Chris and Nathan would do their best; the tall blond had years of experience with friends and cousins building snowmen in the cold Indiana winters. Nathan admitted that he'd never built a snowman in his life.

The crowds were cheering their favorite teams on. The fans had to stand back to give the competitors access to the snow. It soon became clear that the two men who had grown up without a mother and a father, at least on Ezra part no mother on a regular basis, and in the Deep South and the warmer temperatures of Texas where ice storms were more regular than snow storms, somehow knew what they were doing.

Thirty minutes later, with Buck now back and appropriately _warmed_ , the judges had gathered with the ladies' man and the first, second and last place finishers were ready to be announced.

"I think we lost."

"Why do you say that, Josiah? We finished first."

"Fast is not always most satisfying, J.D.," the oldest member of the peacekeepers of Four Corners said.

"He cheated. Just like he does … "

"That's not cheating, Nate. They won, fair and square," Chris said with admiration.

"It was a snowman contest. Not a … not a snow _FAMILY_ contest."

"Even had time to finish the family dog." Chris shook his head. He looked over to Ezra and Vin, the latter beaming, the former wearing a look that had best be gone when Nathan got close to him. Both men saw their boss staring at them. The leader of The Seven tipped his hat. They returned the gesture in kind.

"In third place, Josiah and J.D.," Buck announced.

"Damn," the town's sheriff said.

Josiah put his arm around J.D.'s shoulder as they walked up to get their third place ribbon. "We got our butts handed to us, J.D."

"I didn't know we could have done what Ezra and Vin did."

"We couldn't, son." The oldest and youngest members of The Magnificent Seven picked up their prize and stepped to the side.

"In second place, Chris and Nathan."

Chris walked up, smirked at the two winners, and said, "Best watch out for Nate," as he walked by. Nathan trudged behind and paused in front of Ezra. From the corner of his eye, the former slave saw Vin step up closer to his partner in crime. And he was sure a crime had been committed, however minor it might have been. He shook his head and stepped up with Chris.

"They whooped your asses," Buck said. The two second-place finishers could smell the _warming_ essence of the punch on Buck's breath. Nathan ignored him and stepped around to wait for the final announcement.

"And the winners, with not just one snowman but a snow _man_ , a snow _woman_ , two little snow _kids_ and a snow _dog_ , Ezra and Vin." Applause and cheers greeted the winning duo as they made their way up the steps to accept their prize. It was only a gold ribbon, to be shared between the two. But it wasn't the prize that satisfied, it was the effort, and the pleasure of seeing the happy smiles on the faces of the families as the season progressed toward the big day.

"How much time did you spend planning this?" Nathan asked. His irritation was subsiding as he realized just what a really good job his two friends had done in a mere thirty minutes. It was damned cold out, but he figured the speed at which Ezra and Vin needed to work to accomplish what they did kept them warm and toasty.

"A lot," Vin answered.

Nathan nodded. "Well, good job."

Buck laughed. "Good for you, Nate."

Josiah added, "Proud of you, brother."

"Oh, shut up," Nathan said, a smile coming to his face. "Who's gonna buy me a drink?"

"Ah believe that should be Vin and yours truly," Ezra said as he finished pinning the gold ribbon to the tracker's capote.

"That's only because the drinks've already been paid for," Buck said. Ezra stared at Buck until the man realized what he'd just said, which apparently was not ever going to happen. "What? Do I have something on my fuzz?" he asked as he swiped at his moustache with his hand.

"Leave 'im be, Ezra. He don't know what he's sayin'." Apparently a cup or two of the spiked punch had messed with Buck's memory of Ezra agreeing to pay for the bottomless bowl of it.

"Truer words, Mistah Tanner."

"What?" Buck asked, but was immediately distracted by one of the single ladies in town bringing a dish into the saloon. "Let me walk with you with that, Miss Trudy. I would help, but as you can see … "

"It'd be nice to have you walk me in, Buck." Chris, Vin and Ezra all shook their heads at the man's short attention span … and extreme good luck. Vin walked on ahead of his two friends.

"So, did you make any money on the two bets?" Chris asked.

"Ah have not done the final calculations," Ezra said, though Chris was fully aware that Ezra knew the results and just hadn't noted them in his book, "but Ah would say that Ah did quite well on the first one and will have a dollar or two in mah pocket on the second."

"What was the consensus?" the tall blond asked.

"Six."

"Damn."

"Yes, you chose five. Very close."

The two men started in for the town-wide repast. "Are you gonna tell Buck the results of the second bet?" Chris asked.

"Ah don't know. Is there a point?"

"The enjoyment of watching his reaction?"

"Ah. Well, Ah suppose there is a chance that it might come up in conversation this afternoon, in passing. Ah shall be sure to notify you before that … happenstance, Mistah Larabee." Chris laughed out loud and then thanked the gambler for that early present.

"Merry Christmas, Ezra."

The End.


End file.
